Riverkeeper Inc

Programs: The Hudson River Program's primary focus is on pollution prevention and enforcement. Major campaigns within the program include:
General Electric PCBs Clean-up: Riverkeeper is working to ensure a full clean-up of the toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) targeted by the U.S. EPA for removal from the Hudson River. Dumped by General Electric over a period of several decades, PCBs are probable human carcinogens and have other significant adverse impacts on public health. The contamination of the Hudson from PCBs is so widespread that the EPA has classified 200 miles of the River a Superfund site, and the Hudson's historic commercial fishery is defunct. Riverkeeper has monitored and evaluated the first phase of the clean-up and is working to ensure that Phase 2 begins as scheduled and results in a comprehensive clean-up of the targeted contamination.   
New York City Combined Sewer Overflows: Riverkeeper promotes policy initiatives and solutions such as "Green Infrastructure" to solve the problem of chronic overflows of sewage and contaminated storm water into New York Harbor and City waterways in order to see the City's waters achieve the Clean Water Act standard of "swimmability."  Currently, the City discharges an average of 27 billion gallons of sewage and polluted storm water every year into its waterways due to antiquated waste and storm water infrastructure. Riverkeeper works with a broad coalition of environmental and community groups to promote sustainable solutions such as green roofs, rain gardens, and tree plantings to capture and re-purpose storm water before it enters the City's outmoded systems and triggers pollution discharges. Riverkeeper believes that the City should be in compliance with federal and state water quality standards, and that its waters should be safe for recreation at all times.  Newtown Creek and Gowanus Canal Remediations: Riverkeeper is working to ensure that these two heavily polluted waterways, among the most contaminated in the nation, are cleaned up and restored as assets to local communities and New York City as a whole. Riverkeeper successfully advocated that both waterways be named federal Superfund sites. As a result, the federal government will study and characterize the contamination in Newtown Creek and the Gowanus Canal, develop remediation plans, and pursue a comprehensive clean-up. Riverkeeper is monitoring and participating in all phases of the Superfund programs on these waterways. Hudson River Power Plants: Riverkeeper leads a coalition including Scenic Hudson and Natural Resources Defense Council in a legal battle to force New York State to update the permits of power plants along the Hudson to minimize damage to the River's aquatic life. The power plants are using outdated and environmentally destructive cooling systems that require massive volumes of River water. In the process of cycling River water through the systems, the plants kill billions of fish in various stages of life every year. Riverkeeper and its partners are demanding New York State-issued permits that require the best available technology as required by the federal Clean Water Act. This technology would reduce fish kills by at least 97%.

Citizen Watchdogs: Riverkeeper recruits citizens in New York City and Hudson River Valley communities to recognize and report incidents of pollution on the River and to work with Riverkeeper staff to address them. Through these citizen volunteers, Riverkeeper extends its reach far beyond what current staffing levels allow, and engages citizens in the process of defending their rights to clean water and healthy communities.